I'm not lying about seeing these stats (I'm willing to let the stats lie for me!), it's just that it's impossible to remember everything about everything. The information age has not yet progressed to the stage where you can call up any factoid you wanted whenever you want, but we're getting closer. Plans are in the works for walls and fabrics to have memory chips installed in them, so that we can access information by voice wherever we happen to be.

The inherent danger of this avalanche of information (Freud's colleague/disciple Otto Rank called this "The overabundance of Truth") is that it's hard to determine what is true and what is false information. Billion dollar ad agencies spew out zillions of 'press releases' that jam fax machines, newspaper columns, and e-zines with somewhat dubious 'facts'.

For example, here's one: the Wall Street Journal reports that companies are struggling in their efforts to attract young workers, so some companies are resorting to putting in pool tables, mini-golf putting surfaces, gyms, bike storage, coffee bars, etc. The goal, of course, is to make work seem more like play - encouraging younger workers to accept offers to work with said company, and stay put with the company when headhunters begin raiding their talent.

My favorite perq is the Velcro wall where Employees can throw themselves at a wall and stick there. Calls home might begin with, "Sorry, Honey, I seem to be stuck here at work!" While oddball methods of attracting younger workers are no doubt being tried, how prevalent are these perqs? And how important are they in determining where people choose to work?

The survey quoted to support this story stated, "41% of Job applicants said the office environment would affect their desire to take a Job." One problem with this cause and effect scenario - office environment means different things to different people. For me, it means how my supervisor treats me. Or how much camaraderie I have with my co-workers. Office environment may mean relationships rather than furniture.

My brother always hammered me with one question: "Who is your source?" In this example, the source is the American Society of Interior Designers. You don't suppose they have an interest in telling Corporate America that attracting qualified young workers requires a substantial investment in changing the Interior Design of their offices, do you?

-Mark Poppen

Rev Your Engines

June 16, 1999

Using a plethora of search engines to find just one item is a waste of time. Is it necessary?

Internet searching is fast becoming more of a science, and less of an art. Focused search abilities are not only prized by Employers; they can serve you well finding those very same Employers. Keep up to date on the changing search technologies and you'll find the right information the first time.

-Mark Poppen

Purpose

June 15, 1999

What is your purpose in life, anyway?

In the best of all possible worlds, your Job should reflect some of your deeper aspirations and goals. Your actions do have an effect on the world and the people around you, so simply working to pay the bills leaves most of us irritatingly dissatisfied. Some of our stress from work (or being out of work) stems from the gut feeling we have that there should be more to life than just connecting part A to part B all day long. Even Jobs with more intellectual stimulation can leave one feeling slimy and used (Marketing comes to mind).

At some point you need to ask yourself, what do I really want to do with the rest of my life? This is not so much a mid-life crisis question as it is a whole-life question. Your answers to the following questions may help get you started in the right direction - they helped me a little. Answer yes or no to these questions:

1. Do you look forward to the first day of your workweek?
2. Do you have clear career and life goals?
3. Do you feel your life has been worthless?
4. Do you think your daily tasks are satisfying?
5. Would you drastically change your life if you had only a few months to live?
6. Have you seriously considered killing yourself?
7. Do you feel that your Job gives meaning to your life?
8. Do you think that you have inner peace?
9. Are you happy?
10. Can you define your life purpose?
11. Does your career reflect your purpose in life?
12. Do you do what you should rather than what you want?

Of course, there aren't any right or wrong answers. However, if you feel worthless, unhappy, have no purpose or meaning to your life, and think about offing yourself to the point of making plans, then you should address these issues with close friends. Develop some perspective on life - there is always someone who is worse off than you are. That's why misery loves company, it assuages our deeper senses of aloneness.

I'm reminded of a 60's anthropologist who was studying in Africa, and showed members of an impoverished tribe some pictures of Depression era dustbowl families. The pictures showed the families in front of their homes with their ruined farms in the background, and no one in the pictures was smiling - a grim look seemed fixed on all their faces. Even when apprised of the Depression era difficulties these families faced, none of the Africans could understand why these people seemed universally sad. Their poverty and living conditions were not dissimilar, what was different were their expectations. The Africans reveled in their membership in a family and community, and no raised expectations that things should be any different.

If you really want to know the meaning of life (and your purpose in it), watch Monty Python's movie of the same name. Their priceless advice? Be nice to people, don't forget to treat yourself well, have a warm bath occasionally, and don't take things too seriously.

-Mark Poppen

Non Profits

June 14, 1999

If Online Jobhunting frustrates you, you are not alone. The technology is new enough that Employers are not only just catching on how to use the web, but manipulate the data output (resumes) in a timely and efficient manner. Unfortunately for you, time (and its corollary, money) may not be a luxury you have at the moment. So you should consider apprenticeships, volunteer work, and non-profit organizations. While these will pay less than your full market value as a laborer, they could be rich in networking opportunities. And I can't stress enough the importance of networking contacts - it's not what you know (computer technology excepted), it's who you know.

Some sites are better than others. And I wish webmasters wouldn't confuse potential clients by pretending to be global Internet players when the reality is much different. For example, look at 4work. I tried looking for a Job (any Job!) in San Francisco, which is the nearest Job market to where I live.

What do I find? Almost twenty hotlinked Job descriptions - which seems a bit paltry for such a large city. But when I click on all of the Job description links, they lead to a total of only two Jobs for the entire city.

Even in their own backyard (Denver), there is only one Job listing, though it has nine separate links to it. This ought to be embarrassing to someone running a self-described 'global Job network', but Internet hype is apparently not the sole domain of IPO managers.

It left a bad taste in my mouth, and I suspect other Jobhunters will not be bookmarking this site unless they are looking for an excellent discussion of the philosophy of work and some of the ramifications of the webification of the workplace, a la Alvin Toffler.|

However, your first concern should be finding some of the lead-ins to the Job you want, rather than general thoughts on the nature of work. To that end, try some of these sites that list Jobs working with Non-Profit Organizations: